Side Projects as Insurance Policies

Michelle and Colleen reunite for a wide-ranging season closer: Claude/Fable maxing anxiety, Colleen's very opinionated meal planning app, using Claude in the actual kitchen, Geocodio updates (Laracon US, ice cream truck, two open positions), and Colleen's big news. Plus: Matthias's coding agent Yak, the Yakkity Yak connection, secret RevOps plans, and an honest conversation about deliberate growth vs. quality of life.

Colleen is stuck in a bubble rut.

Colleen shipped the Geocodio CLI (with a Claude Code agent skill!) and Michele had a nightmare about Figma. That's kind of the vibe this week. We also talk about what it's like building AI tools, when Claude decides to stop working, and which AI tools we reach for day to day. Plus, Michele's organizing a Larabelles event at Laracon US to help more women and non-binary folks feel welcome at tech conferences, and Colleen has some strong opinions about what actually works. Also discussed: Ghosts (BBC version), Ted Lasso, and going to the gym. You know, our normal weird stuff.

We get into the messy reality of putting guardrails around AI tooling across a team: shared skills repos, documenting design decisions, and why Claude still needs to be managed like a very smart intern. We swap stories about AI taking over every conversation (yes, even bachelorette parties in Austin), debate whether junior devs should learn without AI first, and Colleen talks about hiring a sales coach who teaches her exactly what she teaches others. Plus: why we're so bullish on in-person events right now, and Michele talks about the why they waited 8 years to hire anyone, and why you can't separate feelings from good decision-making.

Michele and Colleen are back on the mics! We talked about our recent lives, burnout recovery, AI tooling, and the evolving landscape of content creation and marketing automation. Oh, and Colleen lets the power guy in halfway through.

After two years off-air, Michele and Colleen finally sit down together in front of the mics.Links:SaaS Marketing GymTinySeed Tales with Colleen are being released every Thursday on Startups for the Rest of Us!

Michele chats with Kevin Griffin about how she sees side projects not only as a way to earn extra money but as insurance policies against losing your job or other unexpected life events. Subscribe to Multithreaded Income! 

Michele chats with Jesse J. Anderson, aka ADHD Jesse, about finding out one has ADHD as an adult, entrepreneurship as people with ADHD, parenting an ADHD child, and more. Get Jesse's book "Extra Focus: The Quick-Start Guide to Adult ADHD" and join his newsletter: https://adhdjesse.com/+ Recommended book on parenting kids with ADHD: ADD Superparenting

Colleen and Michele talk about their hopes and plans for 2023, and make an announcement about this show.Huge thanks to all of our listeners who became Software Socialites and supported our show! We genuinely appreciate your enthusiasm and support.Chris from Chipper CIThe Daringly Handsome Kevin GriffinAnd Mike from Gently Used Domains, who has a nice personalityDave from RecutMax of OnlineOrNotStefan from Talk to StefanBrendan Andrade of Bright BitsTeam TupleAlex Hillman from The Tiny MBARamy from Hovercode and Rocket GemsJane and Benedikt from UserlistKendall MorganRuben Gamez of SignWellCorey Haines of SwipeWellMike Wade of Crowd SentryNate Ritter of Room StealsAnna Maste of Subscribe SenseGeoff Roberts from OutsetaJustin Jackson, MegaMakerJack Ellis and Paul Jarvis from Fathom AnalyticsMatthew from Appointment ReminderAndrew Culver at Bullet TrainJohn KostorAlex of Corso SystemsRichard from StunningJosh,the annoyingly pragmatic founderBen from Participant KitJohn from Credo and EditorNinjaCam SloanMichael Koper of Nusii ProposalsChris from UrlboxCaeli of TossletGreg Park from TraitLabAdam from Rails AutoscaleLana and Alex from RecapsyJoe Masilotti of railsdevs.comProud MaMa from Oplnet, LLCAnna from KradlMoncef from Ruby on MacSteve of Be InclusiveSimon Bennett of SnapShooter BackupsJosh Smith of Keyhero.ioJesper Christiansen of FormBackendMatthew Wojtowicz of WorkCited Chris of Jetboost.ioDaryl Shannon of DocamaticLarabelles - a community for Laravel developers under-represented due to their genderBrendon from FeederloopPascal from sharpen.pageLynn Romich from KonbiniArvid KahlJames Sowers from Castaway.fmJessica MalnikDamian Moore of Audio Audit Podcast CheckerEldon from NodleStudiosMitchell Davis from RecruitKit

Michele talked to Christian Genco on December 1 about what he needed to do to launch his new SaaS, TheVideoClipper, with a deadline of having it done before this episode was released. So... did he do it? Follow Christian! https://twitter.com/cgencoCheck out TheVideoClipper: https://thevideoclipper.com/Huge thanks to all of our listeners who’ve become Software Socialites and support our show! Chris from Chipper CIThe Daringly Handsome Kevin GriffinAnd Mike from Gently Used Domains, who has a nice personalityDave from RecutMax of OnlineOrNotStefan from Talk to StefanBrendan Andrade of Bright BitsTeam TupleAlex Hillman from The Tiny MBARamy from Hovercode and Rocket GemsJane and Benedikt from UserlistKendall MorganRuben Gamez of SignWellCorey Haines of SwipeWellMike Wade of Crowd SentryNate Ritter of Room StealsAnna Maste of Subscribe SenseGeoff Roberts from OutsetaJustin Jackson, MegaMakerJack Ellis and Paul Jarvis from Fathom AnalyticsMatthew from Appointment ReminderAndrew Culver at Bullet TrainJohn KostorAlex of Corso SystemsRichard from StunningJosh,the annoyingly pragmatic founderBen from Participant KitJohn from Credo and EditorNinjaCam SloanMichael Koper of Nusii ProposalsChris from UrlboxCaeli of TossletGreg Park from TraitLabAdam from Rails AutoscaleLana and Alex from RecapsyJoe Masilotti of railsdevs.comProud MaMa from Oplnet, LLCAnna from KradlMoncef from Ruby on MacSteve of Be InclusiveSimon Bennett of SnapShooter BackupsJosh Smith of Keyhero.ioJesper Christiansen of FormBackendMatthew Wojtowicz of WorkCited Chris of Jetboost.ioDaryl Shannon of DocamaticLarabelles - a community for Laravel developers under-represented due to their genderBrendon from FeederloopPascal from sharpen.pageLynn Romich from KonbiniArvid KahlJames Sowers from Castaway.fmJessica MalnikDamian Moore of Audio Audit Podcast CheckerEldon from NodleStudiosMitchell Davis from RecruitKit